| A great
number of people who come to me for marketing help have a litany of complaints:
"I have no time to market, I'm not the marketing type, I really hate marketing."
Often they're expecting me to give them a "painless pill" that will make
marketing both easy and effective.
That pill
is actually available but it's not what they expect.
The first
dose of medicine is this information: Your concept of marketing is
completely backwards. Marketing isn't an ordeal to be endured. Marketing
is about sharing the heart of your business. You need to change your point
of view first.
What do I mean?
What I'm
talking about is a "Mindset" that shapes the way you perceive your business
and marketing. There are mindsets that serve you and mindsets that
undermine you.
The kind
of mindset that undermines you might be called the "Scarcity Mindset"
and consists of beliefs, attitudes, self-talk and behaviors that go something
like this:
"People don't
value my services. People don't understand what I do and there's really
no way to explain it. Marketing is about presenting a false image so it's
not appropriate for my business. When it doesn't work anyway, how can I
find the time to market? I'm not the hype-and-hustle type, so I'll just
have to hope for word-of-mouth business. You have to struggle to make it
in business - that's just the way it is."
Sound familiar?
Now the
interesting thing about this is that it is TOTALLY subjective. It's
not a report on the truth but a reflection of your mindset. It might seem
completely true to you but it's actually a choice you've made. Sure there
were things in your life that influenced you to adopt that mindset but
it's still your choice whether you hold onto it or not.
Ask yourself,
does it serve you? Does it make your life and business easier? Does
it add to your satisfaction and fulfillment?
I didn't think
so!
So why not
try a whole new mindset that actually serves you, that makes your life
and business easier and more fun and increases your satisfaction and fulfillment?
What have you got to lose?
This mindset
might be called the "Abundance Mindset." This mindset is also composed
of beliefs, attitudes, self-talk and behaviors, but they sound quite different
from the Scarcity Mindset:
"People value
my services. It's fun sharing about what I do and the results I produce
for my clients. Marketing is about getting out there and presenting an
authentic message that represents my business. It's easy to find the time
to market because everything I do pays off so well. I'm going to provide
services that are so great that people will want to pass my name along.
When you do what you love and share that passion, business is effortless."
This might
not seem so familiar to you!
But again,
it's your subjective viewpoint and it's your choice! You can whine about
marketing or you can celebrate it. You can resist it or you can jump in
with both feet.
When you
adopt this new mindset, all sorts of new possibilities open up to you.
You no longer feel like a beggar but more like an evangelist with a vital
message. You're no longer trying to GET something with your marketing,
you're trying to GIVE something.
After all,
with an Abundance Mindset, you know that you have a lot to share. By sharing
with enthusiasm, you realize that people will see the value you have to
offer and will be more readily attracted to your services.
Some of
the things you can do to share the value of your services include:
-
write articles
about your area of expertise
-
give talks about
your specialty
-
volunteer your
time at your networking group (instead of just showing up)
-
offer low-risk
introductory services
-
go the extra mile
in everything you do
-
provide valuable
information sheets to your clients
-
send an email
newsletter to your clients and prospective clients
-
offer a free introductory
workshop
-
give away the
first half-hour free
-
provide a better-than-risk-free
guarantee
-
offer a free report
or other valuable information to prospects
Let me tell you,
it's very hard to do all of the above things if you're coming from a place
of scarcity. But if you're choosing a mindset of abundance these things
come naturally and easily.
You'll also
realize that what you give comes back to you many, many times over.
What you
need to do first is work on adopting an Abundance Mindset. Then start
to initiate marketing activities that are focused more on giving than on
getting. I guarantee that not only will marketing be a lot more fun, it
will be a whole lot more effective.
This article,
copyright Robert Middleton, Action Plan Marketing. All rights reserved.
Robert's web site is a comprehensive resource on marketing for Independent
Professionals. For free marketing resources and valuable marketing tools
visit
http://www.actionplan.com
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